Analysts expect that Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES) will post $1.49 billion in sales for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks reports. Three analysts have provided estimates for Hess’ earnings, with the highest sales estimate coming in at $1.50 billion and the lowest estimate coming in at $1.48 billion. Hess reported sales of $1.39 billion during the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year over year growth rate of 7.2%. The business is scheduled to issue its next earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, April 25th.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Hess will report full year sales of $6.41 billion for the current year, with estimates ranging from $6.13 billion to $6.75 billion. For the next year, analysts anticipate that the business will report sales of $8.18 billion, with estimates ranging from $7.00 billion to $10.44 billion. Zacks Investment Research’s sales averages are an average based on a survey of sell-side analysts that that provide coverage for Hess.

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Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.41) by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Hess had a negative net margin of 2.91% and a negative return on equity of 0.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.01) earnings per share.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HES. MKM Partners reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Hess in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. ValuEngine raised shares of Hess from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 13th. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Hess from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Hess and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 29th. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of Hess from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 29th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.69.

In other Hess news, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 8,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total transaction of $503,991.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Timothy B. Goodell sold 5,546 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.40, for a total transaction of $296,156.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 470,741 shares of company stock worth $25,677,557. 12.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Standard Life Aberdeen plc increased its position in shares of Hess by 3.4% in the third quarter. Standard Life Aberdeen plc now owns 767,491 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $54,941,000 after acquiring an additional 25,029 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the third quarter worth $255,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Hess by 41.6% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 17,674 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,265,000 after acquiring an additional 5,192 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc increased its position in shares of Hess by 320.4% in the third quarter. Man Group plc now owns 118,157 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $8,458,000 after acquiring an additional 90,049 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Hess by 1.0% in the third quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 186,500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $13,350,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. 90.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Shares of HES opened at $65.86 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $19.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -89.00 and a beta of 1.95. Hess has a 1 year low of $35.59 and a 1 year high of $74.81.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently -135.14%.

Hess Company Profile

Hess Corporation, an exploration and production company, explores for, develops, produces, purchases, transports, and sells crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. It operates through two segments, Exploration and Production, and Midstream. The company conducts production operations primarily in the United States, Denmark, the Malaysia/Thailand Joint Development Area, and Malaysia; and exploration activities primarily offshore Guyana, Suriname, Canada, and in the Gulf of Mexico.